Whether in your own state or when you’re planning a road trip, you gotta know the laws affecting you and your rig. Do you have to wear a helmet? Can you carry a child? Do you have to bag up that radar detector? Heck, some states even have restrictions around helmet speakers and handlebar height.

Makes me glad to be a motorcyclist in Oregon — from what I can see, we don’t have too much in the way of restrictive laws (FYI, I’m not getting into a helmet law debate). The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has a comprehensive state-by-state breakdown of road and off-road motorcycle laws. Here are some highlights for road motorcycling laws in Oregon, but remember, 1) I’m not a lawyer and ain’t playing one in the blogosphere, and 2) here’s the full AMA list of Oregon motorcycle laws:

• Helmets are required, but eye protection isn’t (I’ll still take both, thanks)
• Passenger seats and footrests required if carrying a passenger (crikey, they wanna be comfortable too? whine, whine, whine…)
• No passenger age restriction (get that newborn in the sidecar, honey, let’s go tear-arsing!)
• Two motorcycles can ride abreast in the same lane, but a motorcycle is not allowed to lane-split (or pass another vehicle using the same lane that vehicle is in)

AMA - Oregon Motorcycle Laws